Building Leadership to Win the FutureLocal 1000 leaders and strategic partners commit to organizing to rebuild the middle class

PostJanuary 28, 2015

Working together to build a stronger, more responsive union, more
than 300 member leaders, staff and community allies came together
in San Diego Jan. 16th and 17th at Local 1000’s annual Real Time
Strategic Change conference.

Responding to a changing political and economic landscape, the
two-day meeting focused on developing member activists and
leaders.

“We are taking our leadership to the next level for the
challenges we face in the months and years ahead,” said Yvonne R.
Walker, Local 1000 president. “From enforcing our hard-earned
contract rights and protecting our pensions, to building a
stronger middle class, we must engage our members to build an
army.”

“Our future … our choice”

President Walker spoke of the advances that Local 1000 has
achieved after previous RTSC conferences. “Together, we agreed
that ‘politics matter’ and have elected lawmakers who support the
middle class. We agreed that we must be more relevant to our
members by providing real representation at work and helping them
to build more vibrant communities where they live.

“We have a responsibility to save the middle class and to fight
income inequality whenever and wherever it exists,” Walker added
“We must apply new tools and methods to become the union we need
to be. Let’s not leave our future in the hands of others, because
it is truly our future … and our choice.”

Community strength

Looking forward, Local 1000 will work to develop strategic
partnerships with community allies who share our values and will
join us in the fight for working families. “At the same time, we
will strengthen our relationships with the state employees we
represent,” said Tamekia N. Robinson, Local 1000 vice president
for organizing/representation.

“We have to be morethan just the place that state workers go to
when they need information about their benefits or retirement,”
Robinson said. “Ultimately, it’s not about the information. It’s
about nurturing real relationships and helping our members feel a
deep connection with our values.”

Vice President for Bargaining Margarita Maldonado said that
showing leadership at work and in your community can be
personally challenging, but to be successful “we must all reach
outside our comfort zones.”

“A key part of developing more leaders is to reach out to others
and to create experiences for them to facilitate their personal
growth,” Maldonado said. “By nurturing relationships and creating
opportunities for others to grow, we all grow stronger as a
union.”

Members and staff at the event all committed to helping build
“Regional Communities of Leadership” throughout California and to
working to develop a stronger movement to save the middle class
from income inequality. The groups worked tirelessly throughout
the two-day event to begin planning for future meetings and
activities throughout the year.

“We have made the choice to state loudly and clearly that the
purpose of Local 1000 is to be an organization that will stand
with our members in their fight to build the kind of world they
want to see for our children and grandchildren,” President Walker
said. “We have begun the hard work of restoring the California
dream. Now, it is time for us to dig deeper to develop more
leaders who will stand with us as we fight for California’s
future.”